One cannabis joint as bad as five cigarettes: study

Smoking one cannabis joint is as harmful to a person's lungs as having up to five cigarettes, according to research published on Tuesday.

Those who smoked cannabis damaged both the lungs' small fine airways, used for transporting oxygen, and the large airways, which blocked air flow, the researchers said.

It meant cannabis smokers complained of wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness, the study by experts at the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand found.

The researchers tested 339 people -- those who smoked only cannabis, those who smoked tobacco, those who smoked both and non-smokers.

The study found only those who smoked tobacco suffered from the crippling lung disease emphysema, but cannabis use stopped the lungs working properly.

"The extent of this damage was directly related to the number of joints smoked, with higher consumption linked to greater incapacity," said the authors of the report published in the medical journal Thorax.

"The effect on the lungs of each joint was equivalent to smoking between 2.5 and five cigarettes in one go."

The British government is considering whether cannabis should be reclassified as a more serious drug because of the dangers associated with stronger strains.

"The danger cannabis poses to respiratory health is consistently being overlooked," said Helena Shovelton, Chief Executive of the British Lung Foundation.

"Smoking a joint is more harmful to the lungs than smoking a cigarette and we have just banned people from doing that in public places because of the health risks."

Last week British researchers said using marijuana increased the risk of developing a psychotic illness such as schizophrenia."


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Tue Jul 31, 3:27 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters)
One cannabis joint as bad as five cigarettes: study

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070731/hl_nm/britain_cannabis_dc

get a vaporizer or dont smoke so much or both.

see i think of it like this i smoke like a dime a day on ocassion i smoke more but a dime is a gram witch is one rolled ciggarette and how many do peeps smoke a day so smoking ciggys is worse for you

I only read the title. Instead of smoking 20 cigs a day, I now smoke roughly 1 joint a week. Feel great Viva la plant....

I don't like these studies, there's just too many variables involved.

We need a study done on the molecular level.

blacksoulman knows what's up. Buy a damn vaporizer

This is bullshit! I used to smoke pot and it stopped all the problems I had with my asthma. I've not had problems with it since.

I remember reading studies about how THC opens up the alvioli in the lungs, making it easier to breathe.

Drinking a pint of vodka is 8 times as bad as drinking a pint of beer, too. But who drinks vodka in the same volume as they drink beer?

Right!? ^ ^

"The study found only those who smoked tobacco suffered from the crippling lung disease emphysema, but cannabis use stopped the lungs working properly."

Stopped the lungs working properly eh? But hey tobacco isn't bad, people only get emphysema from it.

God I hate when they publish these studies telling you how bad 'one joint' is. That's not science. A joint is not a unit of measurement. That could mean absolutely anything. I've smoked joints that were finished in 2 hits and others so fat they qualified as blunts. If they included a weight for the amount of weed they used it would be different, but they don't.

I've been smoking almost daily throughout the whole summer, and the worst thats happened to my lungs is occasionally having to clear my throat once in awhile.

All things considered: heart disease, lung cancer, emphysema, addiction potential... tobacco is MUCH worse for you than cannabis.

england has gone mad!!! mad i say!!!

seriously, have the tea leaves gone bad?

It's very vague about what it does to your lungs exactly...it's not emphysema, but it damages the air passages in your lungs. Is it reversible? Does this condition even have a name?

snowshovel said:

It's very vague about what it does to your lungs exactly...it's not emphysema, but it damages the air passages in your lungs. Is it reversible? Does this condition even have a name?

Click to expand...

Propaganditis i believe is the medical term.

i think this is the type of joint they are talking about:

So if I'm smoking only about 1 or 2 joints a day, that's only as bad as 5 cigs? And also, only tobacco smokers were linked to emphysema?

Guess I'm not doing too bad then.

good thing we have bongs and vaporizers

How vague can an article possible get...

I'm not disagreing that smoking bud might harm the lungs, if I blaze it hard, I get a bit short of breath, sure. But it has so many positive health effects, even on the lungs, that I belive the benefits greatly outweigh the risks.

Also, of course there is no mention of vapes or eating it..and I love how they stick in the bit about weed and schizophrenia at the end. Fuck this article and fuck these PROPOGANDA studies. If they weren't so obvious about having an agenda I would put alot more credit in them.

why are people complaining about this? if it's true, it's very GOOD news for everyone but the most heavy cannabis smokers. most cannabis users stop smoking by age 25 and very few continue past age 40. most cannabis smokers smoke less than 5 joints per day. so if you do the math, they are still at less risk than tobacco smokers.